I’m building a PC to play the game - I have some components in hand, and I have questions about a few others, any feedback would be appreciated.
In hand:
Gigabyte z690 ddr4 ud4 motherboard
i5 13600 CPU
Planned: 32GB DDR4. I’ve read repeatedly that 2x16GB ddr4 3600 cas16 is a very good, and I think the price I’m finding is OK. I’m also seeing ddr4 3200 cas 16 and ddr4 3600 cas 18 at a bit of savings, I’m wondering how much impact that would be. Also today I saw an ad for black Friday pricing on Neo Forza ddr4 4400 cas 19 RAM. Online calculators say that actually has a bit less net latency than the 3600 cas 16, so it seems like it’s worth getting. Does anyone have real world experience comparing these, or using DDR4 4400 RAM.
I had been leaning towards a 3080, but the pricing is still iffy so far and I’m hearing good experience from a lot of people posting here about the AMD 6xxx series in comparison. I’m hoping that the 7xxxx GPUs being announced soon push Nvidia to be more competitive, or I’ll probably go that route.
The overall latency on CL19 DDR4 4400 kit is roughly comparable to a CL16 3600 kit. A higher CL latency can be offset by running a higher memory frequency.
To answer OP’s question, I would not bother running DDR4 4400 RAM, as the kits are expensive and could introduce memory controller complications. I would invest in a high quality CL14 or CL16 DDR4 3600 kit, as gaming performance typically favors lower CL timings vs higher memory frequency.
Neo Forza MARS 32GB (2x16GB) 288-Pin DDR4 4400 CL19 $100 at newegg.
g.skill ripjaws v F4-3600C16D-32GVKC $110 also at newegg. Various 3200 cl16 I’ve seen in the $70-80 range, roughly. I have no problem spending $30 more on RAM if it’s actually helpful, just today was the first time I have seen ddr4 4400 in that same price range so it had me curious.
I appreciate the feedback. I am not sure how much RAM can be overclocked, or even I’m even going to bother. Similar question on the CPU, I may try at some point but probably getting it set up completely and if the framerates are good I won’t need to OC.
It depends what type of RAM. Samsung B-die can be usually be overclocked and is usually the ones used for CL14 3600 kits. The sweet spot for DDR4 is still the 3600 Mhz kits. Anything higher, and you’re looking at a very small single-digit performance gains. I’ve never been a big fan of overclocking RAM, as it’s time consuming with rather minimal performance gains.
It is worth noting that due to the different way AMD and Intel implement memory controllers, RAM speed and memory latency is far more important for an AMD build.
For AMD any sub optimal RAM will have a serious effect on overall performance. For Intel systems, it still matters but is not near as critical.
Do you have some overclockable RAM in hand? You could try testing how high memory frequencies your CPU’s IMC likes before shifting to gear 2.
One thing to note is that lots of cheaper 2x16GB RAM kits are only single ranked. Single vs. double ranked can be 5%+ performance difference by itself. You could fit 4x8GB single rank sticks to get two ranks per memory channel, but most mobos use the daisy chain memory architecture and don’t like more than 2 sticks.
Personally, that G-skill kit with 2x16GB double ranked Hynix DJR I believe (though it might also be CJR?) is about minimum I’d consider. Or equivalent, e.g. the Kingston Fury Renegade 2x16GB which is also double ranked Hynix (not sure if CJR or DJR).
Samsung B die is supposedly the premium but it also costs a ton. Beyond that to my understanding Micron E and to lesser degree B as well as Hynix DJR overclock at least somewhat reasonably.
Is that even true with Raptor Lake? It’s basically squeezing every last bit of juice DDR4 has still got to it. You can still get to DDR5 performance standards, but it needs RAM overclocking to 4000Mhz+ speeds at non-crippling latencies and CPU IMC lottery to enable that.
I would go for the cheapest solution that fits your cpu. Flightsim is not a shooter game. You will not notice the difference, maybe with measuring tools, but certainly not visually.
This is true if you want to keep the infinity fabric clock 1:1 to reduce overall memory latency. You can offset the penalty of running an uncoupled infinity fabric by running a very high memory frequency. Intel systems are a bit different, but you should be able to run Gear 1 for DDR4. However, you will have to use Gear 2 for DDR5.
From what I hear, it’d be very unlikely he’d be able to run that 4400Mhz Forza kit at 4400Mhz in gear 1. Only if he were really lucky with the CPU IMC and spent lot of time optimizing the timings. 3600Mhz in gear 1 would be practically guaranteed.
I kinda doubt running it below advertised/factory spec has any kind of advantage to longevity. Most RAM brands issue lifetime guarantees at those settings, and they all use the same components underneath.
